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It was another outstanding Lone Star event held at the ever so accommodating Slick Willie’s Family Pool Hall on Westheimer @ Dairy Ashford in beautiful Houston, Texas. All in all there were 66 entrants in four divisions who played for over $5,000 in prize money. Among the Open 10-Ball and One Pocket Divisions were Jason Brown, Andy Jethwa, David Gutierrez, Nick Hood, Marc Garza, and Charlie Bryant along with touring regulars Rodney Stewart, Will Felder, Kerry Ganther and Grady Cooper, just to name a few.

Saturday’s first 3 rounds of play yielded a new look for the winners’ side with APA Champion Don Bullard v. Grady Cooper, Alex Cardenas v. North Carolina’s Jason Brown, Danny Lee v. Andy Jethwa and Victor “Champion” Rojas v. David Gutierrez. Charlie Bryant found himself in unfamiliar territory when he was eliminated on Saturday by Brown 9-6 and Marc Garza 7-4. On Sunday, Garza, Sonny Bosshamer, Blaine Barcus and Rodney Stewart waited in the wings while the east side produced Bullard v. Brown, and Lee v. Rojas. Jethwa, Gutierrez, and Cardenas advanced on the left along with Barcus who was the only one of the original four who made it another round. On the east side, Bullard fell to Brown 9-3 and Lee bested Rojas 9-5. Ultimately it was Jethwa v. Gutierrez and Barcus v. Cardenas on the west side. Gutierrez bested Jethwa then Bullard to reach Rojas who was on a streak of his own. Rojas sent Gutierrez west earlier 9-8 but Gutierrez exacted his revenge 7-1. Meanwhile Jason Brown’s determination landed him in the hot seat 9-4 over Lee. Gutierrez made quick work of Lee but fell in the final to the undefeated Brown 9-5.

There were 12 ladies who appeared in full force on Sunday. Tournament hopefuls included, Ricki Casper, Tisha Hay, Robyn Petrosino, Yvette Reyes, and former pros Deanna Kniola and Ming Ng. It was Ng over Kniola 7-6 for the hot seat and on the west side, Belinda Lee over Casper. Kniola finished a respectable third while Ng took down Lee in the final 7-3.

Congratulations to David Gutierrez who captured the One Pocket event and Robyn Petrosino who won the 17 and under Juniors event.

The Lone Star Billiards Tour held its first ever Men’s & Ladies 9-Ball Open at the corporately owned Slick Willie’s dairy ashford location in Houston, Texas. Manager Gaylan Spreen was a fantastic host with his 27 Brunswick Medalist tables recently recovered with 860 Simonis cloth, re-leveled, and ready to go! Everyone was treated to a smoke free environment, polished pool balls, and the friendliest wait staff in Houston.

This event drew 57 players who battled for over $5,000 in prize money. Tour favorites on the men’s side included Charlie Bryant, James Davis Jr., Sylver Ochoa, Andy Jethwa, David Parker, and Doug Young. All of these accomplished players made it to the final 12 on Sunday including Lake Charles’ own Derek Fontenot who defeated Danny Tam 9-5 to reach the winner’s side final four. Ochoa bested Jethwa 9-4, Bryant defeated Davis 9-3, and Parker served it up cold to Danny Tam 9-8. Fontenot and Bryant emerged as hot seat opponents but it was Bryant who found himself in all too familiar territory, once again.

Fontenot patiently waited for the west side to play out. After Parker and Ochoa took a hit on the winner’s side, they met up with Jethwa and Tam respectively. Parker bested Jethwa 7-3 and Ochoa slid by Tam 7-6. Again, it was Parker who advanced two more rounds after he ousted Ochoa, then Fontenot, who finished a respectable third. It was Parker v. Bryant in the final. Bryant commanded the set early on, while Parker struggled to gain ground. Parker wowed spectators with his dramatic shot making but it proved no match for Bryant. Many congratulations and a debt of gratitude goes out to David Parker (Houston, Tx.), Derek Fontenot (Lake Charles, La.), and Charlie Bryant(Santa Fe, Tx.) for their outstanding play, sportsmanship, and personal friendship.

Ricky Casper

On the ladies’ side, it was tour regular Ricky Casper who finished the event undefeated and captured her very first tour title. Belinda Lee put up a great fight, but lost to Casper 7-6 in the final match. Texas State Open Champion Kyu Yi finished third and also finished 13th-16th in the Men’s Open event, while tour rookie Kimmy Nguyen took home fourth. Well done ladies!

Belinda Lee

We want to thank our tour sponsors: Poison Cues, Delta-13 Rack, James Barnett, and Eugene Lee. Special thanks go out to Gaylan Spreen and the Slick Willie’s Corporation, who hosted a first rate event. Also, congratulations to Ernesto Bayaua who won the AX5 Poison Cue Raffle!